The Birkeland Family Blog

Another birthday and another year older.  But hey, look at my cute family.  I may be getting older, and time keeps flying by faster, but I am so lucky to be a mommy and watch my little family grow up.  Everyday they make me laugh and amazed, yet they can get tears of frustration and impatience out of me.  I love them to death.  Cheers to getting older!  

I'm 20 weeks pregnant with a baby girl.  If this is a surprise to you it is even a bigger surprise to us.  Brian and I have always rolled our eyes when couples say, "this was a total woops".  Yeah yeah!!!!  "Whatever", we thought.  Well, we now believe in "woops" babies.  This was not planned and totally unexpected.  I will spare you the details, but like Brian likes to say, "we came home with an extra souvenir from Disneyland".  We are now finally being able to admit to ourselves that we have another little one coming to our family. We are now believing this baby is coming to us for our little Emmi.  She has been begging for a little sister since Jack came and ruined her life.  We have kept this whole pregnancy a secret from Emmi because once you let her in on something everyone will know about it.  We wanted the cerclage to go well and my first ultrasound to be cle...

Emmi has finally overcome her fear of water and has learned to kinda sort of swim.  It wasn't an easy process.  In fact, they just pushed her in over and over with her screaming, but after 12 weeks of weekly private lessons she is floating, swimming with head under the water, and jumping off the diving board in the deep end.  She in fact maybe a little too confident in her skills.  Her last day of preschool they went swimming at the Fremont Pool.  She and a friend went out to the deep.  She kept trying to reach for the side of the pool and couldn't reach.  I saw her struggling so I, the mother, go running to get the gaurd to see her and to get her, while two other moms go in fully clothed to save her.  I got mother of the year award. 

This year Jack had a family "Dino" party.  Last minute I threw together a homemade chocolate cake and decorated it with what I think may have resembled a dinosaur, elephant, or a dragon.  All that matters is that there was something to place 2 candles in so he could blow them out.    Jack went through a phase where he wanted to wear Emmi's swimsuits and refused to put on his. This ensemble was everything Jack got for his birthday.  A swimming robe, and a cowboy hat with two cap guns.  The action dinosaur was also a hit that was from Grandma Jill.  This was my sad sad "dino" cake.  There is no need to say more.  The picture tells it all.  Happy Birthday to my little Jack Bird Where did the time go?  He is a little boy now.  He is mommy's biggest helper in the kitchen.  Always wants to be involved with every project.  He loves to dress up in his sisters dress ups and shoes.  He has th...

I changed my blog a bit and somehow I lost my sidebar with all of your blog addresses.  Please if you could comment and place your blog address I would love it.  I haven't been able to check in on anyone in a long time.  I miss all of you!!!! Thanks and I hope to peek in on what you have been up to.  Angie

Emmi's 4th birthday was a Pajama and Pancake Party!  We had a few of her friends come over in the morning dressed in their pajamas for a pancake breakfast.  The girls had fun.  They loved the blueberry pancakes, but the biggest hit was Emmi's "giant sweet roll" cake.  We stuck candles in the sweet roll and sang happy birthday.  The girls ate up every last bite.  We played some games and the biggest hit was musical pillows.  We opened gifts, the girls played a bit and then went home.  By 10:30 all the girls had gone home with their sippy cereal bowl as a party favor and for the rest of the day Emmi was begging for a friend to come over to play.  She seemed to forget that she just had a birthday party that morning.   So....word of advice to mom's planning a birthday party.  Don't do a morning birthday.  All the fun is over by mid morning and the rest of the day you will hear them whine for more!  ...

So this Easter I failed miserably!  I didn't even get a picture of Emmi and Jack together in their easter clothes. In fact Jack never stepped foot in his outfit.  We did manage to get a picture of Emmi in her adorble dress that Grammy Jill found her.  Our church is at 1:00 and by that hour Jack had completely gone ape, along with all of us.  Brian stayed home to nap Jack and Emmi and I got ready and went.  We did it and enjoyed the spiritual uplift to be reminded of our Savior and his life! We did manage to dye easter eggs the night before and to have a hunt when the kids woke up.  Before the kids went to bed Emmi put lettuce leaves down the front sidewalk to lure the easter bunny in.  When they woke up they had easter baskets filled with toys and candy hidden for a hunt.  Emmi was in heaven.  It is her favorite game to go and find hidden thing...